


Breaking the Same Old Ground

by DarkKnightDan



Category: Zootopia
Genre: Crime, Love Triangle, Multi, Possible Polyamory, Romance, cop, criminal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 23:11:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7457422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkKnightDan/pseuds/DarkKnightDan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason Ferron was just your average ZPD officer. He did his job right, and he never went against anyone. The only thing was, he had an eye for a certain fox.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Brake  
How was it, that I always got myself into these stupid situations? Nothing should've gone wrong tonight, I should've already been back at my place in Tundratown, relaxing, maybe drinking a beer.   
Unfortunately, it had seemed as though the world had other plans for me, as it often did. Instead of being home right now and enjoying myself, I had a whole squad of Zootopia Squad Cars on my tail.   
"Could you just shake these guys?" I called over to my friend in the driver seat as I dug around for anything that I could use to deter the cops from pursuing us. Old food, wouldn't do much, package of drugs, definitely didn't want to throw that. Now, the stun gun that was buried beneath everything else could definitely make the cops think twice about following us much further.   
"Doing my best." The grey wolf murmured back as he jerked the steering wheel in a sharp angle to get around a turn. As a result, I was flung into the door to my right, smacking my head against the glass in the process. I groaned in a moment of pain as I rolled down the window, moving to poke out and take some pot shots at the cops on our tail. I figured I wouldn't be able to hit any of them effectively, but the sight of a stun gun might send them into a bit of a more wild pattern when it came to the chase.  
Unfortunately, it seemed that one of the cops behind us had the same idea as me. When I put my head out of the window into the slight rain that was peppering the rainforest district I was met by a bunny pointing a stun gun right back at me from the car directly behind us.   
"Oh sh-" I managed to growl before the stun charge hit me, pushing me against the door's frame and causing my body to convulse as electricity pulsed out from the charge.   
FUCK FUCK FUCK was the only thing I could think as I attempted to pull the charge off, though that proved exceptionally difficult with the little use I had of my body.   
"You've got to be kidding me." I heard in my ear before I felt the charge being ripped out, bringing some of my fur with it. I groaned in pain and clutched the place on my arm where the charge had embedded itself only moments before.   
"Bunny cop." I said through deep breaths.  
"Hopps? You're fucking kidding me." Derek moaned as he continued swerving to avoid the cops on our tail. Unfortunately, it seemed that my friend's valiant effort was all for not, as a line of squad cars all came into view on the road just ahead of us as we hit the turn.   
"Stop." I told Derek, but he either didn't hear me, or he didn't care, because the car accelerated instead of halting.   
"Oh, damnit Derek." I cursed as I grabbed onto the door and the console, bracing for the imminent impact.   
Sure enough, we hit the squad car, and it was just as bad as I thought it was. The car lurched forward, and I felt like it was going to flip tail over hood, but then it fell back to the road. In the process of the crash, my face had collided with the dashboard, sending a jolt of blinding pain to my skull, and the airbag had nailed my torso, sending blinding pain through that entire area as well.   
I bit my tongue to suppress the urge to scream, but I heard Derek through the ensuing noise as cops crowded either side of the car. He kept screaming that his arm was broken, but at the moment I could barely hear that through the haze of pain that I was in.  
"Why me?" I groaned as the door was opened and I was dragged from the wreck I had been running from the cops in only moments before.   
"Oh, stop complaining." I heard a familiar voice and I opened my eyes to see none other than Nick Wilde standing over me, smiling.  
"Hey." I greeted with as much of a smile as I could manage. "The drugs are in the front seat, I think you can see where the guy is"  
"Yeah, I can. Good job, Jason. We called an ambulance for you, they'll make sure you're alright before we send you home."   
"Oh I'm fine." I said as I tried to stand, only to have the world start to spin around me wildly.   
"Or not." I retorted to myself as I sunk back down to the ground. Nick chuckled from beside me before putting a hand on my shoulder.  
"Take it easy big guy, you'll be home before you know it."  
"Where's Judy at?" I questioned, as it was extremely odd that Nick would be anywhere without his partner, as they had been basically inseparable ever since Nick had started his work at the ZPD.  
"Oh, she's over by one of the cars talking to DelGato, trying to make sure that he can get back to the station, what with your friend completely totaling one of our cars."  
"Alright, that was not my fault. I even told him to stop." I shot back, causing Nick to chuckle.  
"I know, I know. Hey, here comes the ambulance." Nick patted me on the back with a usual Nick-like smirk.  
"I'll let them take care of you big man, I'll see you in the Station."  
"Don't remind me." I muttered. At this point, doing my usual desk work actually sounded worse than the work I had been doing with the gang I had been undercover with over the past few months.   
But now, it looked like I was going to get back to my standard work.


	2. This Old Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is going to advance things pretty fast, but I'll expand upon some of the events mentioned later.

This Old Pain  
Fortunately, due to the concussion that I had sustained in the crash, I didn't have to go back into the station for a few days. During that time, I stayed at my house and watched re-runs of some shows that I had been into, mulling over the past three months. It had been interesting to get into a gang, hell, I'll admit that part of me really enjoyed it. Only thing was, I wasn't able to see all of my friends during that time. The only cop that I had any contact with was Chief Bogo, and that was only once or twice a week. Besides that, I never got to talk with any of my friends.  
That wouldn't have been too terrible, if it weren't for the fact that I didn't really have any friends outside of the force. I had graduated in the class right before Nick Wilde, and I had actually become decent friends with Judy Hopps and DelGato. After Nick graduated he and I had become fast friends as well. On top of that, I was one of the few people that Jack Savage spoke to. Yeah, THE Jack Savage, he considered me a decent guy to hang with.   
But, honestly, it seemed like things had changed quite a bit since I had been undercover. For one, Jack was barely around the ZPD anymore, he seemed to spend more time out on missions than ever. Secondly, from what I had heard before my debriefing, Nick and Judy were a couple.  
So, here's the thing. I wasn't angry that Nick and Judy were together, on the contrary, I was happy for them. They seemed very happy together, too. From the two months I had worked with them before going undercover I had seen the beginnings of a budding relationship, and I was even a bit satisfied to know that my prediction had come true.  
There was one catch though. While Judy went home and did whatever it was she did, Nick had ended up at my place on a few occasions, and by a few I meant two or three times a week. The first couple times that he had come over had just been to watch TV or whatever, have fun, then things changed.  
It was probably the fifth or sixth time that Nick had come over, and we were both drunk off cheap liquor and crappy beer. I can't remember the exact details of the conversation, but Nick suddenly asked me if I was gay. I'm sure you can already see that this conversation was heading toward a complete train wreck.   
I admitted that I was bi, and Nick suggested that I hook up with Clawhauser. When I said that the guy was nice, but not my type, Nick asked me what my type was. Jokingly, I said cute and sly foxes. Nick laughed, but then he just grabbed my face and kissed me like it was the last time he would kiss anyone. Needless to say, things got pretty heated between us. That first night was probably the best one of my life, but it wasn't the last time Nick and I got together.   
For the next couple weeks, before I went undercover, Nick would show up at my place at random times during the night. When he did, we would go right into it. No flirting, no foreplay, nothing. When it was over, we would stay intertwined for about an hour or so, and then Nick would leave. Sometimes there were never any words exchanged, and that seemed fine.   
Until a few nights before I saw Nick last, that is. It was after we had done our usual thing, and I was lying there in his arms, listening to the beating of his heart with his fur tickling my ear. I felt so at peace, and I felt like it was the perfect time to say something to Nick, something that I had wanted to tell him since we'd started doing this.  
"Nick." I murmured into his fur and I heard him grunt a quiet acknowledgment, his half lidded eyes looking down at me. It was comical how we would always end up like this, since I was a good head taller than he was.  
"Are we, uh, are we mates?" I questioned, sounding like a child who had no clue what the very concept of mating was. In response, Nick chuckled and toyed with my ear, smiling as he did.  
"Well, how about we see how things go with your undercover operation before we decide that. I mean, I won't see you for what, three months, at least?" I nodded in response and Nick ran his fingers through my fur like I was a pup.  
"Well, when you get done with your work we'll talk about that. Until then, let's just enjoy ourselves." That had hurt a little bit, being brushed off like that, but I figured that Nick was serious about talking when I got done with my job. But now that I was back, I could see that I was obviously little more than a toy for Nick Wilde.  
So, I spent most of my weekend off on my couch, drinking the same cheap beer that Nick and I had shared, and thinking about that damn Fox. I wanted so desperately to have never gone on that undercover job, to have stuck around and won Nick over, but I knew that it was no use. Nick had never belonged to me, I should have seen that from the moment I saw that spark when he looked at Judy.  
My self pity was interrupted suddenly by a knock at my door. I groaned and shouted out that I was coming before tossing the can that I had been drinking from into the pile of empties in the basket next to the couch. Too many for me to be moving about, but I really should answer the door. I vaguely remembered someone knocking earlier in the day, which I had ignored.   
I half expected to have ordered a pizza and forgotten about it, but when I opened the door I found myself face to face with the emerald green eyes that had been taunting the little sleep I'd managed to get in the last few nights, and all of the nights that I had been away.  
I wanted to spit a nasty insult at Nick Wilde, but seeing him standing there in his uniform, a concerned look in his eyes, that made those intentions vanish.   
"What?" I asked, sounding more irritated that I had intended to. If I wasn't drunk, I probably would have tried that again, but I really wasn't in the mood.   
"How much have you drank?" Nick asked with a raised brow.  
"What does it matter?" I shot back and Nick smirked.  
"If you've drank too much, then I'm sure that there won't be any left for me." I rolled my eyes as I opened the door completely, leaning against the doorframe in an effort to keep myself upright.  
"Why don't you go get Judy to get you some beer, hm? Or is she too good for that?" Christ, I wanted to smack myself, but the look on Nick's face when I said Judy's name was priceless.  
"What's Judy have to do with this?" Nick asked in confusion and I wanted to shove him so badly right then, or hit him, but I didn't.   
"You know damn well what Judy has to do with this." I snarled as I felt tears well up in my eyes. Oh Christ, don't cry Jason, don't let him see that he's hurt you. But I couldn't help it, moments later I felt myself slowly sliding down the doorframe, my head in my hands as the tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I wanted them to vanish, but they just wouldn't stop coming.   
It was in the middle of this that it registered that I had been moved from the doorframe. Instead of leaning back against the hard wood, I was now leant forward into Nick's chest, my face buried into the shirt of his uniform.   
"Jason...." Nick whispered, repeating my name over and over, accompanied by little words of comfort.  
I put my hands on his chest and tried to shove him back, but he was stronger than I was in my drunken state, he held my paws and looked me right in the eyes.  
"Tell me what's wrong." He insisted and I shook my head, turning my face to avoid his gaze. In response, Nick grabbed my face and tuned me back toward him. He didn't say anything, but he waited.  
"I thought that I meant something to you." I whispered and Nick's brows suddenly furrowed.  
"Jason, you do mean something to me. You mean a lot to me. Why would you think otherwise?" I looked up from where I had been gazing at the floor, and my eyes met Nick's.   
"Because you love Judy." I whispered and Nick sighed, gently pulling me forward so my head was resting on his chest again. I didn't resist this time, I was too tired at this point.   
"You're right Jason, I do love Judy." When Nick said those words, I felt like my heart was about to shatter into so many pieces that I wouldn't even begin to know where to pick them up. But, Nick managed to stop this when he leant down and pressed his lips to mine, just like he had done dozens of times before.   
The electric shock that always accompanied these moments ran up my spine, and it felt like everything melted away for a moment. I was ensnared by Nick's kiss, and when he broke it I could still feel the warmth of his lips lingering on mine. God, I had missed him so much.  
"I love Judy." Nick explained "but I love you more, Jason."


	3. Domestic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yay, more fluff with Jason and Nick. The next couple chapters will be more plot heavy, I just really felt like writing this today.

Domestic  
I was half asleep on the couch, my eyes closed, when I heard the door open. A shaft of light pierced the darkness of the room, and I groaned in response to it, rolling over and pulling a pillow over my face, causing my midnight black fur to spread out all around it.  
Besides the door closing, I didn't hear anything else until Nick's voice broke through the barrier I had created with the pillow.  
"Hangover hit you hard?" He asked as I felt his hand move over my head gently, pausing to play with my ears when he reached them. I nodded in response, continuing to hold the pillow where I had placed it.  
I could hear Nick stifle a chuckle, and then I felt the couch dip on the side where my feet were nearly pulled up to my waist. I felt Nick's hand on my thigh, right below where the athletic shorts I was wearing ended.  
"This is why I tried to tell you to stop drinking." The fox informed me. I acknowledged his advice with a groan, causing him to audibly snicker.  
"Alright, how about I help you to the bedroom?" Nick asked and I sighed, dropping the pillow and pushing myself up with one arm. So I was sitting straight up. I noticed that Nick had a bag by his feet, one that I hadn't ever seen him with before.  
"What's with the bag?" I murmured, and when Nick questioned what I had asked, I pointed wordlessly to the bag. In response Nick raised a brow, which I could barely see out of the corner of my eye.  
"I'm going to stay the night tonight, make sure you can get to work tomorrow." Now this was new. Usually when I was hung over I was at work and Nick just threw me a bottle of water to try and help me out with the headache. That, or he would bring me food whenever he got some for Judy.  
"I don't want to go back to work." I murmured as I fell back on my side, my facing hitting the cushion of the couch heavily.   
"Well, you have to." Nick said as he gently put his hands on my shoulders and guided me back up.  
"Can't I just sleep for the rest of the day?" I groaned, turning my head to look at the smaller cop, who raised a brow.  
"Oh, you don't want to spend the day with me?" He questioned, seemingly offended.  
"Just cuddle me." I muttered, leaning over and wrapping my arms around Nick's waist. He chuckled at my affectionate nature, again beginning to pet my head.  
"You were so angry at me just a few hours ago, now you want me to cuddle you?"  
"That's what I said." I responded wearily, nuzzling my face into Nick's stomach. I wished that he wasn't wearing a shirt at this point, but I was honestly too tired to ask him to remove it at this point.   
"Couldn't we at least move to the bed? You look pretty cramped on here." Nick insisted and I groaned into his stomach.  
"Fine." I conceded and propped myself up again. I allowed Nick to stand before I held my hands out. He didn't look at me for a second, as he was picking up his bag. Then, he turned and raised a brow at me.  
"You need me to help you up now?" He questioned and I shot him a glare. With a nervous smile, Nick grabbed my hands and helped me to my feet. I stumbled slightly, wincing at the pain in my head.  
"Alright, let's go." Nick said, letting go of one hand but dragging me by the other. I walked slowly after him as he led me into my bedroom. Nick threw his bag into the floor next to the bed and helped me sit down.  
"Can you undress yourself at this point?" Nick asked and I raised a brow.  
"Why?" I questioned and Nick smirked.  
"Well, I figure that you'd rather cuddle without clothes, but far be it from me to know what you want." He said in his usual cocky tone. In response, I pulled my shirt off, reaching down to slide my shorts off as well.   
Once I was undressed, I laid back and closed my eyes, waiting to feel the familiar dip of the bed, and the warmth of Nick in the bed next to me.   
Once I heard the creak of the mattress I rolled over and rested my head on the fox's chest. His fur brushed against my ear, and I could feel the beating of Nick's heart already beginning to lull me into sleep.  
"Jason." Nick whispered before I could manage to doze off, causing me to open my eyes and at the fox, my pale blue orbs meeting his own emerald green ones.  
Before I could ask what he had wanted to say, Nick gently kissed me, his arms momentarily finding their way around my neck. Wearily, I returned the kiss, my own arms looping around the smaller fox's waist. Unlike our usual kisses, which would grow and escalate in passion until we ended up between the sheets, Nick broke this kiss short. He then leant down and whispered into my ear, like he was telling me the biggest secret he could have ever told me.  
"I love you." He whispered. For a moment, there was silence, like the whole world has gone still around me. It was so strange, Nick had said this before only hours ago and it hadn't had this effect. Hell, even when we had sex the world hadn't stopped turning. But now, it felt like everything was just perfect.  
"I love you too." I whispered in return, gently kissing Nick's chest, causing him to smirk with a sound of satisfaction emanating from the area that I had kissed only moments before.  
"Now get some sleep, you still have to work." Nick said as he positioned himself so that my head was resting on his chest with one of his arms around my shoulders, my own still wrapped tightly around his waist.  
"Yes, sir." I murmured drowsily before drifting off.


	4. Duty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for Jason having time with a friend. As I promised, less fluff in this chapter, more conflict.

Duty  
Arriving at the police station the next morning felt extremely strange. What felt stranger was that I couldn't hold onto Nick like I had been for basically the past couple of days. Fraternization among officers in the same area of the department was, after all, highly frowned upon. So, we kept a respectful distance from each other as we walked up to the front door. I held a bottle of water in one hand, and my phone in the other.  
"Do we have anything important going on?" I asked Nick as we walked in the door and he shook his head, taking off his usual shades as we entered our workplace.   
Clawhauser called out his greetings from behind his desk as we came in and I told Nick I would catch up with him, I wanted to talk to Clawhauser, it'd been too long.  
"Jason! It's so great to see you!" Clawhauser exclaimed with his trademark huge grin.  
"Great to see you too, Clawhauser." I replied with a smile "How've thing been since I've been gone?"  
"Oh, there's been so much going on. Jack Savage has been around for the past couple days, talking with chief and causing all kinds of excitement. On top of that, Judy's got the whole station planning a party for Nick." I cocked a brow at that last line.  
"Party? For what?" I asked before taking a drink of my water. Clawhauser mimicked my expression before replying.  
"Well, Nick's birthday. With all the time you spend with him, you think you would know." I nearly spit out my water at that information, instead swallowing it after a moment of difficulty.  
"Holy shit, it is close to Nick's birthday." I sighed. I had forgotten all about his birthday, what with time getting away from me during my mission and all. Thankfully, it wasn't like today or anything, it was like a week away. That gave me plenty of time to get Nick a present, maybe even help get things together for his party.  
"Thanks Clawhauser." I said with a smile "it was nice to see you again, but I've really got to get to the bullpen. Can't have Bogo tearing me a new one on my first day back."  
"Oh that'd be a sight." Clawhauser laughed as I walked off toward the bullpen, shoving my phone into my pocket as I did. When I opened the door I saw that a lot of the seats were already occupied. Nick was sitting next to Judy, with no seat next to either of them.  
"Well, shit." I murmured before spotting a seat next to Wolford, a decent friend of mine. I slid into the seat next to my fellow wolf, who smiled over at me.  
"Well, lookie here, big bad Jason is all done with his big mission?" I nodded and Wolford extended his paw to me, which I shook.   
"Yeah, been done for the past few days now, chief just gave me a few days off to rest." I replied and Wolford chuckled.  
"Maybe I should take some undercover missions, I could go for a few days off. Not like there's much exciting going on around here anymore."   
"I hear that." I muttered and Wolford leant forward, resting his muzzle on his hand.  
"So uh, what do you think of Wilde and Hopps?"  
"What do you mean?" I asked with a raised brow, causing Wolford to look over at me with a dubious expression.  
"Christ, you really are out of the loop. Hopps and Wilde are totally a thing." I wanted to counter and tell Wolford that Nick and I were mates, but I figured that would cause a lot of problems. So, I just shrugged.  
"It's nice, I guess." I said and Wolford clapped me on the back.  
"Hey, I hear Fangmire is looking for someone nice, why don't you talk to her?" I smirked over at Wolford.  
"I think I'm fine, nothing against Fangmire, but you know I'm not much into girls."  
"True, true." Before we could continue our conversation we were all called to attention as Chief Bogo entered the room. There was the usual hoots and howls, accompanied by fists slamming on desks.  
"Alright, enough." Chief chided us before setting down the few folders he had carried in.   
"First thing on the docket, we'd like to welcome back Officer Ferron, but who really cares?" There were the usual chuckles, and I just smirked at Chief Bogo, who returned my expression in kind.  
"Alright, we still have some unsolved robberies in Tundratown that we need to get solved quickly. Wolford, Wilde, Hopps, and Ferron, I want you all to check that out. Wolford and I both stood and walked directly out of the room, figuring that Nick and Judy would grab the case file while we headed out into the main area.  
"Just meet us in the big square with the frozen over fountain." Judy called and Wolford shouted back his acknowledgment. We headed to one of the squad cars, which Wolford called driving privileges on. I rolled my eyes and slid into the passenger seat, leaning back and rummaging for the shades that I generally kept in my front pocket.  
"Hey, this should be fun for us, natural habitat and all." Wolford asserted as we drove toward Tundratown.  
"Well, it'll be better than Sahara Square, that's for sure." I agreed and Wolford chuckled.  
"Hey, when we get done, why don't we go get drinks, it's been way too long since we've gone for drinks together." I shrugged.  
"Sure, why not, it has been too long. The usual place?"  
"As always."  
When we arrived in Tundrawtown, Wolford and I stepped out of the car to wait for Nick and Judy to catch up with us. A few minutes later, they pulled up and parked right behind us. Nick hopped out of the driver seat, and Judy jumped down from the passenger side before they walked over to us.  
"So, what's the deal?" I asked, leaning back against the cruiser with my arms over my chest as I spoke.   
"There's been four robberies from the square in the past six weeks. All random hours of the day, all random vendors."  
"So the guy doesn't want anything really, he's just looking for a quick buck." Wolford asserted.  
"That, or he's just addicted to committing crime." Judy countered and Wolford shrugged.  
"Anyway, Nick and I are going to question some witnesses that live in the area, would you two mind talking to the store vendors?" Part of me wanted to propose that I go with Nick instead, but I figured Hopps wouldn't let that fly, so I nodded.  
"Great. I'll have Nick call you when we're finished, good luck." With that, Judy and Nick went their own way while Wolford examined the sheet that Judy had given him.  
"Ten bucks says that these people don't know jack." Wolford murmured.  
"I'm not the betting type, especially when the bet is a guaranteed loss." I responded and Wolford rolled his eyes.  
"Damn, here I was thinking I could make an easy ten bucks. Come on, let's check these places out."


	5. Mistakes

Mistakes  
After we interviewed all of the business owners in Arctic Square, Wolford and I headed back to the station. There wasn't much going on that afternoon, so we mostly just did whatever paperwork needed done for the day, seeing how most of the other officers were out on patrol. I wondered where Nick and Judy where, but assumed that they were still working since I hadn't gotten a call from Nick.  
Was I worried about Nick? Yes, yes I was. I had no idea what kind of people he could run into in downtown Tundratown. Actually, I knew exactly what kind of people he could run into, and that's what worried me. In the midst of all the paperwork I barely noticed that passage of time and, soon enough, it was time for Wolford and I to head out so that the late shift guys could come on.   
Wolford and I walked out of the station together, both of us now wearing civilian clothes. Wolford wore a pair of jeans and a faded red t-shirt, while I work black sweat pants and a green t-shirt. We looked like we could have just been let out from a holding cell.  
"The train leaves in like, five minutes for Tundratown. So, unless we want to wait twenty minutes for it to come back around, I suggest we hurry." I nodded in response and we started to speed walk down the sidewalk toward the train station. One advantage of being a cop in Zootopia is that you basically memorize public transport stops, including the times that they typically arrive and leave.   
"Did Nick ever call you?" Wolford asked as we walked, and I shook my head in response. There was a brief pause, and then he spoke again.   
"Do you think you should call him, just to make sure he's alright?"  
"I'm sure he's fine." I replied curtly as we walked up into the train station. I pulled my wallet from my pocket and scanned the card as we went up to the platform.   
"Speak of the devil." Wolford said from beside me and I glanced sidelong at him with a cocked brow.  
"He and Hopps are on the opposite platform, behind us." Wolford informed me and I glanced over my shoulder. Sure enough, Nick was standing with Judy on the opposite platform, looking as nonchalant as ever.  
"Should we talk to them, or do you think they're on a lead?" Wolford inquired.  
"Just leave them to whatever it is they're doing." I replied as the train arrived. When the doors open I stepped on and took a seat next to the door. Wolford sat down next to me and leant back. As the train started to pull out of the station I saw Nick glance over his shoulder. As though he knew I was there, he instantly made eye contact with me, and then looked right back away.  
Fucking Nick Wilde.  
"Are you and he fighting over something?" Wolford asked and I groaned.  
"Come on man, leave it alone."   
"Jason, we can't have officers fighting amongst ourselves. What does that say for our department?" I rolled my eyes.  
"Y'know Jackson, you would be a wonderful team motivator. Maybe you should quit law enforcement and start doing that." Wolford rolled his eyes, both at my comment and my use of his first name.   
"Alright, whatever. Just know that for your piss-poor attitude you're buying me a beer tonight."  
"Only if you buy me one for making me talk to all the shopkeepers today while you waited around outside."   
"Hey, I was being a lookout."  
"A lookout for what? Customers?" I retorted, and there was a moment of silence as Wolford and I stared each other down.  
Then, we both burst into laughter as Wolford shook his head.   
"Alright smartass, we'll buy each other beer, just this once." He then pursed his lips like he was going for a kiss.  
"It'll be like we're on our own little date." He joked and I rolled my eyes.  
"As if."   
"Oh don't act like you don't love me Jason, I know you think about me all the time." Wolford winked and I put my head in my paw.  
"Jesus Christ Jackson, we're on public transportation." I said, though small laughs managed to escape through my facade. "Could you knock that off until we get to the bar at least?" Jackson rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.  
"Fine, if you want to be private about our love then I'll just pretend I don't know you." Jackson turned and angled his muzzle up, imitating a more stuck-up type of girl.  
When the train stopped, Jackson got up and walked out with a sway to his hips that implied that he had a great ass, unfortunately he didn't. I chuckled to myself as I walked after my friend. The whole walk to the bar he went ahead of me, acting like he had no idea who I was.  
By the time I got to the bar, Jackson was already sitting down in a booth, and had a beer in front of him. Another one sat on the table across from him. I smirked before I walked over to where he was sitting, moving through the dimly lit building.  
"Is this seat taken?" I asked and Jackson looked up at me before smirking. "Well, I was waiting for a handsome wolf, but I guess you'll have to do." He said with a smirk before I rolled my eyes and slid into the booth. Once I was seated, Jackson put a piece of black leather on the table.  
"I bought us both beer, you're welcome." Jackson said as he slid my wallet across the table, at which I rolled m my eyes before grabbing my wallet and shoving it into my pocket.  
"Jackass." I snickered before taking a drink out of the pint glass set in front of me. The amber liquid actually had a decent taste, unlike the cheap beer that I was used to drinking back at my apartment.  
"Guinness?" I questioned and Jackson chuckled.   
"Of course, what else would I drink?"   
"I don't know, would you like some shots of Bacardi sprinkled with gold to go with that?" I teased and Jackson rolled his eyes.   
"Sure, just make sure to serve it in the Emerald encrusted shot glass this time, last time you gave me rubies, you asshat." Jackson chuckled before taking a long gulp of his beer, which I mimicked.  
"Seriously though, I don't want to waste time on beer tonight, let's get some whiskey or something." Jackson insisted, beginning to bounce in his seat like a pup, his tail waving rapidly.  
"Fine, fine." I replied before chugging the rest of my pint, putting it down on the table.  
"Rock, paper, scissors to see who has to get it?" I asked and Jackson smirked.  
"You know it, and you're going down fucker." He said, holding his fist out.  
One draw, two draws, three draws later, and I beat Jackson.  
"Ha!" I exclaimed, standing up and flexing like I had just lifted an incredible weight or something. Jackson groaned before standing and walking over to the bar.   
When my friend returned he was carrying a decent sized bottle of fireball whiskey, the one drink we both agreed was extremely tolerable.  
"Alright, new challenge." He said, grabbing my pint glass along with his own. My very, very stupid friend then dumped half of the fifth into his glass, and the other half into mine before giving my glass back.  
"Chug off." Jackson declared.  
"The winner gets......well, I haven't thought that far ahead, anyway, go!" At that, I proceeded to tip the glass back and chug the burning liquid like it was water.  
When I slammed my glass down Jackson did as well, both of our glasses smacking at the table at the same time.  
"Son of a..." Jackson murmured as he wiped his muzzle with the back of his hand.  
"Get another bottle." I said, grabbing a twenty out of my wallet and throwing it on the table. "Not fireball this time, straight whiskey. It has to be harder." I said and Jackson laughed, sliding the bill back to me.  
"I don't want to kill you." He replied and I rolled my eyes, tucking the bill back into my wallet.  
"I will, however, go get two more beers. Then we can go. Mind if I crash at your place tonight? I don't really want to head all the way across Tundratown."  
"Sure, whatever." I said as I leant back.  
Unfortunately, one beer turned to two, then two to four. By the time Jackson and I left the bar we were both having difficulty walking. How we managed to get back to my apartment, I will never be able to understand. All I remember is opening the door and practically shoving Jackson inside. Then, it was all just a blur.


	6. Blurred

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, short chapter, but heavy on plot. Honestly, I just felt like writing after soccer tonight, and this is what I was able to crank out. I promise a very long, very fluffy, chapter tomorrow.

Blurred  
I was woken by a slash of cold water, one which caused me to jerk forward and sent a cracking pain through my skull.   
"Fuck." I groaned, and the groan I made was mimicked from somewhere else in the room. When I opened my eyes, I looked down and saw that Jackson was lying on the floor next to my bed, his head in his hands.   
"Why did you do that?" I half asked, half yelled at Jackson as I slowly sat up again, rubbing the now sore spot on my head.  
"Because we need to get to work." Jackson groaned in response as he slowly got to his feet, still holding his feet.  
"You missed some calls, and texts, by the way." Jackson said as he turned and walked out of the room.   
"Fucking hell." I muttered and felt around for my phone. When I found the small device I held it up and swiped the screen open. Across the top was the banner that read "ten missed messages, four missed calls." They were all from Nick, which wasn't honestly that surprising to me.  
I debated reading the messages, but decided that I should get to work first. So, I left my phone on my bed while I hunted for some clothes to wear into the station, where I would change into my uniform. A pair of jeans and a decent shirt would make for decent entrance clothes, so that's what I chose. Unfortunately, Jackson didn't have anything to change into, so he was going to look pretty shabby going into work. I pointed this out to him and he rolled his eyes.  
"Yeah, yeah." He shrugged it off. "It doesn't really matter to me, let's just get to the station." Jackson said as he opened the door, gesturing for me to go through. Before I did, I grabbed my phone and my wallet. Once I had my things, I walked out. Jackson shut the door behind me and we started toward the train station together. The train to the station would be leaving in about ten minutes, so we had plenty of time to get there.  
"The hangover doesn't seem to be killing you today." Jackson commented and I chuckled slightly.  
"Yeah, for once I don't feel like death." I agreed, causing Jackson to sigh.  
"At least one of us doesn't." He said as he rubbed his head.  
"You're the one who wanted a drinking contest, remember?"  
"Oh, shut the hell up." By the time this conversation had ended Jackson and I had reached the train station. We stepped onto the train and took our seats. Instead of speaking on the way to the station, I let Jackson try and do whatever he could to get rid of his hangover. On the train, he just kind of sat and rubbed his temples, as though he could vanish the hangover with some kind of mental trick.  
Despite my friend's best effort, it didn't seem like he was quite a psychic, because he still seemed like he was in pain when we made it to the station.  
"Maybe a shower will help." I suggested as I opened the door. Jackson still had about half an hour until roll call, so there was plenty of time for the both of us to get a shower and change.  
"Good idea." He muttered as he went ahead of me. At that moment, I didn't follow because I saw Nick standing off by the bullpen, talking with Judy. I figured that I should talk to him, considering I didn't answer his messages or anything.   
"I'll see you in the bullpen." I informed Jackson, who nodded and headed off toward the showers. I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and walked toward Nick and Judy. I was about twenty feet away when Nick looked up and saw me. His eyes widened, and I figured that it was because he knew what I had just caught him doing. Then, I was spun around suddenly and I felt an intense pain in my chest. There was a mass of pure black in front of me, it took a moment for it to register that the mass was a polar bear wearing a suit. His white head was just barely visible. The species of the animal in front of me didn't worry me at the moment though, instead, I was concerned with the pain in my chest.   
A glance downward revealed four claws embedded deep in my chest, which were swiftly withdrawn as the polar bear drew his paw back. I gasped as I felt the claws tearing at my insides when they were withdrawn. The polar bear said something, but I didn't hear it at that point. My wounds had already begun to bleed profusely, and I was on my way to the ground. I didn't see where the polar bear went, but moments later there were a pair of violet eyes staring down into mine, the bunny who the eyes belonged to was frantically calling for help.  
Hopps. My mind registered, and my eyes slowly moved to look for Nick. When I didn't find him there I sighed. Everything was so blurry, he could have been right next to me and I wouldn't have known it. Then, someone was putting pressure on my chest, and I glanced down to see what looked like an orange paw pressing a piece of royal blue cloth to the place where my wounds were.  
"Nick..." I whispered before everything swiftly receded into black. There was no sound, no light hitting my eyelids, it was like someone had just turned out the lights on the world. I was alone, and that was all that my mind could register.   
And, in that moment, I just wanted Nick by my side.


	7. Disconnected

Pale light thrown through pane glass casted dull illumination upon the room. I, like him, resembled barely a shadow in what remained of the light. Wires marked the only ways that I could see him, as the rest of his body was obfuscated by the darkness. Had it not been for the fact that I was holding his paw in mine, I would have barely believed that he was even there at all.  
It was for that reason that sleep had eluded me. While I held one hand, I was petrified by the idea that death held the other. If my grip loosened in sleep, then I was afraid that I would awake to find nary a shadow of him in the bed I sat next to.  
How had I become so attached? In all the moments in all the years of my life I had never felt such worry. It was like he had dug his claws into me and was holding on for all he had. It had been that way since the night he had asked about our relationship, when he'd wanted to know we were mates. At least, until I had looked into his eyes yesterday.  
As he had approached me, his eyes had screamed that his claws were retracting. For all I knew, he had been planning to withdraw them entirely, to push me down into a deep ocean that he had just managed to draw me out of.   
Could that be the case? Could we have dragged each other out of a dark abyss, to only throw ourselves back into the same one? God, I hoped not.  
So, I watched the pale orb of the moon travel across the sky in its arc, barely moving enough for me to notice. In contrast, the shadow in the bed in front of me barely moved a muscle. The only thing that even gave me any indication of life was the way his eyes would close tight, and then slowly relax.  
When Wolford had been in here earlier, he'd commented that Jason seemed peaceful like this. I couldn't have disagreed more. I had seen his eyes do that before while he was asleep, only once.   
That night had been one I'd love to forget. The ways his eyes had bored into me before I'd carried him inside had reached to my soul itself. He may have loved me, but in that moment I couldn't have seen any clearer how he hated me.   
How much had I really hurt him? That, I didn't want to know. Part of me knew that it was worse than any physical pain he had known, even that car crash the night before I'd checked on him.   
By the time the sun rose, I hadn't even gotten a wink of sleep. As much as I'd wanted to, I just couldn't let Jason out of my sight.  
My phone rang, again, and I ignored it. I glanced down afterward, seeing how many messages I'd missed. My screen displayed thirty text messages, and over a dozen missed calls. Some from Judy, a few from Bogo, and a couple from Jackson.  
Judy's were the most frequent of course, but she knew where to find me.   
It took about half an hour since the last call, but I heard the door open to my side. Then, there was a hand on my shoulder that could barely cover half of its area.  
"Nick...you aren't helping him by sitting here." Her voice said, but her eyes blazed with the emotion I had expected from her, one that I'd seen all to often in his eyes.  
I didn't know how to respond without hurting my friend. In fact, I didn't want to respond at all. I just wanted to sit here and make sure Jason was alright.   
Why couldn't he just wake up? Out of everything that I wanted at the moment, out of all the things I wanted to say to him, I just wanted to see his open eyes more than anything.   
I didn't notice when Judy left, or when the nurse came in to check on Jason. I didn't notice when the nurse asked me if I need food either, all I could focus on was the dark form that seemed far too small at the moment.  
"Just.....please, let this all be a nightmare." I murmured as my head finally pitched forward, allowing darkness to rise up and greet me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sorry for the long wait between updates. I actually lost my phone at a concert and lost the progress I had made on the new chapter. I took awhile to think, regrouped, and finally got this together. I hope you enjoy.


	8. Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is very short, full of fluff. I intend to actually write a full chapter tomorrow with some more plot, I honestly just wanted to move past Jason in the hospital in a quick manner.

A ray of light, one that was so bright it seemed like it was divinely sent, nailed me directly in the eye when I managed to pry them open just barely. In response to the sting that shot through my irises, I cursed and clamped my eyes shut once more. After a moment, another pain registered in my abdomen.  
"How much did I drink?" I murmured, as the pain was similar to the kind that I had when I had heaved all of the acid out of my stomach the night previous.   
Instead of an answer to my question, a pair of arms encircled my neck, causing me to nearly jump out of the bed I was currently in. My eyes flew open and were met by a mass of orange fur and, lower down, a navy blue uniform.  
"What the?" I muttered before I registered the distinct sound of crying, however muffled it may have been. Then, it dawned on me who had basically tackled me.   
"Nick?" I asked, and I felt the fox's entire body stiffen.  
"You have no idea how much I missed your voice." He whispered as I felt his paw find mine. My paw closed around his as I began to realize where I was, and what had happened. I remembered the polar bear, the pain in my abdomen suddenly made sense.   
"How long was I out?" I questioned, and Nick finally leant back to face me. When his emerald eyes met mine I couldn't help but crack a smile through the dull pain I was feeling.   
"About three days....Jason, I want to apologize. I know I hurt you, and I was a jerk and-" I cut Nick off by pulling him back against my chest with my free arm, shushing him.  
"You're ruining the moment." I said with a hint of a smile "besides, you have nothing to apologize for." Nick had his arms around my neck again then, and his lips were on mine.   
Our kiss only lasted a few moments before I heard the door to the room open. Nick drew back and sighed, leaning his head on my chest before moving back and allowing the nurses to do whatever it is that they needed to do. They checked my fluid levels, asked me various questions and then left.  
Once they were done, I smiled at Nick, who was looking down at the floor in front of his chair.  
"Nick, what's wrong?" I asked and he sighed.  
"I want to ask you something, but I don't really know how to."  
"Yeah? Want me to help you out?" I smirked and Nick rolled his eyes.  
"Seriously, Jason." Nick reached over, and took my paw in his again. "I love you, so much. I want you to be my mate, I want you to know that I will always love you. I want you to know that no one means more to me than you."  
I smiled at his statement.  
"Well, I think that's a fairly good way to word it, in all honesty


End file.
